DATE: Sunday, August 3, 1997                TAG: 9708020223

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: GROWING OLD IN HAMPTON ROADS

        AN OCCASIONAL SERIES ABOUT HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE MEETING THE NEEDS

        OF THE ELDERLY.

SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  302 lines

MOVING BACK HOME FAMILIES REACHING OUT TO HELP THEIR AGING PARENTS MUST TACKLE CITY ZONING BARRIERS BEFORE FACING THE BARRIERS TO INDEPENDENT LIVING.

It was Christmas morning two years ago that Chuck Passarelli realized his home needed to grow.

He and his wife, Marlene, watched their two young daughters tumble out of bed and head for the presents beneath the tree.

Just one mile away, in her two-bedroom apartment, Passarelli's mother, Lucille, also was rising. But for the first time in her 66 years, she was alone on Christmas morning.

The thought crushed her son.

He decided then that there was only one thing to do: ask mom to move into their brick-faced, three-bedroom house on Red Oak Road.

The next decision was if living in such close quarters would ever work.

The answer for the Passarellis was to split the home into two.

Passarelli added a 500 square-foot addition with a bedroom, living room, bathroom and full kitchen.

His mother had the security of having her son under the same roof, and both families retained their privacy.

Most Virginia Beach residents don't have this option.

Zoning laws created years ago in the name of preserving single-family neighborhoods severely restrict construction of these additions, which have been dubbed mother-in-law suites, granny flats and accessory apartments, and in Virginia Beach are zoned as flex suites.

Until three years ago, they were banned entirely in the city.

The regulations were relaxed to allow property owners with a minimum of a half-acre to build them.

The rules could be relaxed even more.

This week, a city committee examining the needs of housing for seniors will recommend that the lot-size limits be lifted on all properties.

Making a decision won't be simple for the council.

With the population of seniors growing rapidly in Virginia Beach and across the nation, these types of dwellings are likely to be in greater demand.

The additions could help families stay together, care for their aging relatives and save money on the often high cost of retirement communities and other housing options.

But there can be community tradeoffs as well.

Mother-in-law suites have a history across the country of evolving into rental units after their elderly occupants either move to nursing homes or pass away.

Some cities have seen once stately neighborhoods become pocked with small apartments that attract a more transient, less-affluent population, changing the very nature of a community.

The fastest growing segment of the population is the elderly. In 1995, there were 33.5 million persons 65 or older - about one in eight Americans.

That number is expected to double by 2030, perhaps totalling a third of the U.S. population.

Virginia Beach, a city just entering its own middle age, has traditionally had a much younger population than the national average.

That may be changing.

People are living longer; the baby boom generation that developed the Beach is aging; military retirees are settling here in greater numbers. Tourists are returning to spend golden years in the area's mild climate.

And others, such as Lucille Passarelli, are moving to the Beach to be close to their children and grandchildren.

In a 1993 report compiled by ``American Demographics,'' Virginia Beach was ranked among metropolitan areas as having the 25th fastest-growing elderly population in the nation.

In 1980, according to census data, the 65 plus generation made up 4.5 percent of the city's residents; by 2020, city planners expect 20 percent of Beach residents to be aged 55 or older.

By the year 2000, Virginia Beach also is expected to overtake Norfolk as having the largest share of Hampton Roads elderly, according to a study by the Norfolk Department of City Planning. In 1980, Norfolk had 40 percent of the area's elderly, and Virginia Beach had just under 20 percent.

By the turn of the century, Virginia Beach will have more than 31 percent of Hampton Roads' senior population. Norfolk will have just over 27 percent.

That will leave ever more families like the Passarellis asking how they should care for their elderly relatives - and perhaps turning to mother-in-law suites.

``The biggest question was could we do it,'' said Chuck Passarelli, who built his addition about one year ago after many discussions with his mother and family.

They had to decide if there was enough space to get along under one roof. ``We really had to be honest with one another,'' he recalled.

Virginia Beach also will need to do some serious soul searching as it braces for an onslaught of demographic changes.

According to a study conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons, 83 percent of older adults said they would prefer to stay in their homes and never move.

But, according to a report that will be delivered to the city council today, about 25 percent of the Beach's older adults living in their own homes will eventually need help with bathing, dressing, walking or eating. Even without health problems, many older adults will find maintaining a house in the suburbs both financially and physically challenging.

The city has a variety of grant programs to help older residents with home upkeep. They also allow them to rent a room to a caregiver and permit a group of older adults to live together and share expenses and home maintenance responsibility.

But the city drew the line on mother-in-law suites.

The Beach estimates that about 100 homeowners last year asked to divide their homes by adding a suite. All were rejected because because they did not meet the strict zoning requirements.

One of those homeowners was Pam Rosenberg, who wanted to add a mother-in-law suite onto her home so that she could look after her aging parents, James and Laura Burrows.

The city said her Wake Forest Street lot was too small for a flex suite, but she was allowed to build an addition with a bathroom, bedroom and living room. The only room the city wouldn't allow her to build was a full kitchen - which includes an oven. Rosenberg instead added a regrigerator, sink, and micrwave.

Under the proposal that will be presented to council on Tuesday, homeowners, like Rosenberg, with lots smaller than a half-acre would be allowed to build a mother-in-law suite onto their home.

``Our goal ought to be to have an intergenerational city,''said Jan Eliassen, a city planning commissioner. ``No matter how young or old you are, there should be an opportunity for them to become part of the community.''

Eliassen supports the change as a means of keeping families together and actually strengthening neighborhoods. Older adults stay home more often and will keep an eye on their block. They also diversify the fabric of the community, he said.

``If a family is allowed to stay in one location, they are more likely to reinvest in their home,'' he said. ``That improves the neighborhood and creates a larger tax base for the city.''

But Eliassen says he knows that not all residents will see the question his way.

A cornerstone of the American Dream has been the single detached home with a wide lawn, driveway and neighbors who live the same way. Any whisper of rental housing in such neighborhoods is often perceived as a threat to this way of life.

Patrick H. Hare, a planning consultant and author of ``Creating an Accessory Apartment'' said other cities' proposals to allow mother-in-law suites for affordable housing or to house the elderly have been met by strong opposition from homeowners.

``A home is a person's largest financial asset,'' he said. ``The quality of life and the quality of the homes in their neighborhood is very much tied to the quality of their own homes.''

In Seattle, neighborhood opposition to mother-in-law suites twice defeated proposals to allow them.

But in 1993, the state passed a new law which required cities with more than 20,000 residents to permit the apartments.

In most cases, community fears about the suites have been unfounded, Hare said.

The reality is that relatively few homeowners build them, he said. He cited a 1990 study of communities that passed ordinances to allow the additions, which found about one new unit was added per 1,000 single family homes each year.

Tom Pauls, the Beach's comprehensive planning director, believes the benefits of allowing the suites in more areas of the city will certainly outweigh the risks.

``The population is growing, and the desire is for the elderly to age in place. This is a design that allows for that,'' Pauls said.

Passarelli said his neighbors did not question his decision to build an addition on his home. But if he ever tried to rent the space, he expects he would be met with complaints from his neighbors in the Lynnwood community.

``The neighborhood wouldn't tolerate it,'' he said. ``When someone in our neighborhood decided to rent their home, people here were upset. Everybody takes pride in their home. . . . Sometimes people who rent don't have the same pride in the place they live.''

If the city decides to make it easier to build the suites, it will need to wrestle with controlling their impact on existing neighborhoods.

``We know there is a need for this kind of housing. Do we say no to the people who want them just for the one or two cases of abuse?'' asked Councilwoman Barbara H. Henley, who chairs the city's committee on senior housing.

``We have tried to screw it down as tight as we can. . . . Anything you do will have the possibility of abuse.''

``If they built it . . . we can't ask them to dismantle it,'' said Mary de Grouche, a member of the committee representing the city's Department of Social Services.

For now, the mother-in-law suite is working out fine for the Passarellis. They remain close, but Lucille, who volunteers 18 hours a week at Virginia Beach General Hospital and socializes with her church group, keeps her independence.

Some weeks, Chuck Passarelli and his family can go several days without seeing her.

``When I want to go, I go,'' she said, leaning back in her lounge chair.

She said the arrangement is much better for her than a nursing home or retirement community.

``Just having family around means so much when you're alone,'' she said.

This Christmas, Chuck Passarelli had no worries about his mother. Dressed in a bathrobe, she swung open her door, walked through the kitchen and enjoyed the holiday morning with her family.

``She was there with us,'' her son said. ``When she had enough of the kids and all, she walked back to her own place, shut the door and was home.'' MEMO: Many older adults would prefer to stay in their own homes or

with relatives. What does Virginia Beach offer for those seniors who

can't? Tommorow's story will look at the trouble some seniors are having

finding housing in the Beach. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

...When James and Laura Burrows moved...

Photo

Marlene Passarelli, left, and her husband Chuck....

Graphics

Zoning laws for mother-in-law suites in other cities

NORFOLK: Mother-in-law suites are not allowed in single-family

neighborhoods. In the 1950s and early '60s, you could build an

addition onto your home, but the laws permitting such construction

were revoked.

CHESAPEAKE: Only allowed on lots of 20,000 square feet - about a

half-acre - or larger. They may not be rented out.

PORTSMOUTH: Allowed on any size lot as long as there is

sufficient land to meet setback requirements.

SUFFOLK: Mother-in-law suites allowed if granted conditional

use permit by the City Council. They may not be rented to the

public.

SENIOR HOUSING COMMITTEE PROPOSAL

City may change zoning obstacles

The Virginia Beach Senior Housing Committee was convened last

November to review the demands created by the city's growing senior

population. Tuesday, the committee will present its report to City

Council.

The committee's primary finding is that the city's zoning laws

have created obstacles for families wishing to build independent

living quarters for their elderly relatives.

These additions, called mother-in-law suites or flex suites,

allow seniors to enjoy the independence and privacy of an apartment,

but also remain close to their families. City zoning laws restrict

these additions to property with lots about a half-acre in size or

larger.

The committee will recommend that the city lift this restriction

to allow all families, especially those in the middle-income

bracket, to adapt their homes for aging relatives.

The committee also will recommend that the amended ordinance

include regulations and controls to ensure that these dwellings will

not undermine single-family neighborhoods by creating more traffic,

eyesores and density problems.

Here are some of the questions the council may have to answer:

Should a homeowner applying to build a flex suite be required to

notify his neighbors?

Should a homeowner be allowed to rent the flex suite once the

relative has moved on to a nursing home or died? What about

subsequent homeowners?

Should the city restrict occupants of flex suits to seniors or

the disabled? And could it enforce such a restriction with annual

certification?

Should the city require the homeowner to provide off-street

parking?

Can the city create some controls, such as requiring only one

mailbox, electric meter and water meter, to discourage a homeowner

from renting the space to nonrelatives?

The new ordinance is expected to come before the city planning

commission in September and the City Council in October.

Flex suites.

Are they for you?

Thinking about adding a flex suite to your home?

Putting three generations under one roof is a big decision for

many families. Here's advice from some families who have done it.

1. Ask yourself if you can you get along?

``You have to decide whether you're compatible. If you didn't get

along before, you can't do this,'' said James Burrows, who moved in

with his daughter's family in Bayside.

``You have to realize you're two families,'' added his wife,

Laura.

Chuck Passarelli, who invited his mother to move into his

three-bedroom home, puts it this way: Be honest with one another. If

you can't get along, it's not time to be polite. It's better to be

upfront about it before you put the time and the money into building

an addition.

2. If you get past step one, discuss the details. Under current

Beach regulations, flex suites can be a maximum of 500 square feet.

Is that enough living space for your relative?

3. Consider the costs. Can you afford it - an investment of up to

$15,000 to $25,000? And will your relative help out with the extra

mortgage payments?

Also, consider the impact on your property taxes. The Passarellis

estimate their flex suite increased their property tax bill by

roughly 15 percent.

4. Talk about meal and laundry schedules. Will you be eating

together or apart? Most homes will have only one washer and one

dryer.

5. If there are children in the house, you may need to talk about

who will be in charge of them. Will you ask your relatives to help

watch your children? The Burrows said they needed to control their

urge to correct their grandchildren.

``We have to step back. We're the grandparents,'' Laura Burrows

said.

VP

AGING OF AMERICA

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELDERLY

SOURCE: Virginia Department of Planning and Budget, Norfolk

Department of City Planning

[For complete graphics, please see microfilm]

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